New initiatives geared toward women entrepreneurs seek to bolster a growing part of the economy that receives a comparatively smaller share of available credit and capital.Jackie Taylor and her colleagues at the Michigan Women’s Foundation hope to change that equation.

The foundation recently launched the Women’s Angel Fund, a revolving loan fund that will provide early-stage support for women-owned businesses and disadvantaged women who are forming or growing businesses in urban areas.

The foundation also spurred formation last fall of an up to $25 million early-stage venture fund — BELLE Capital, a separate enterprise from the foundation that was co-founded by CEO Carolyn Cassin. BELLE Capital will target businesses in Michigan and the Midwest that are owned by women or have at least one female corporate executive or board member.

“Women want to take part in the economic recovery and the reconstruction of the Michigan economy,” said Taylor, a former college administrator who’s vice chair of the Michigan Women’s Foundation Board of Trustees.

The loan fund seeks to support women “who can re-invent this economy and become the leaders of the future and the employers of the future,” Taylor said.

The foundation’s support for women entrepreneurs through capital and credit, as well as mentoring, is “the most important thing we can do for leadership in this state,” Taylor said.

The Michigan Women’s Foundation led formation of the angel network and created the loan fund following a 2009 study by Ernst & Young that described women as “critical drivers” of economic growth globally.

The report cited data showing women in the U.S. are starting businesses at twice the rate of men and, according to research from Babson College in Wellesley, Mass., that women entrepreneurs could create 6 million jobs over five years if they started with the same capital as men.

Women own 30 percent of all the businesses in the U.S. yet only receive 5 percent of all equity capital investments, according to Babson College.

“That seemed to us like the most dramatic statistic that we could do something about,” Taylor said.

Bonnie Nawara

Bonnie Nawara, CEO of Grand Rapids Opportunities for Women, sees increased interest in supporting and investing in women-owned businesses, one of the fastest-growing parts of the U.S. economy.

Backed by a $50,000 anonymous donation, G.R.O.W. recently started a micro-loan program for women entrepreneurs in the Grand Rapids area. The effort has begun to spur greater interest from prospective entrepreneurs.

“We’re getting calls from all types of women. They have a skill they have been using for a long time, and they’re saying, ‘Hey, I can take that skill into the market and be my own boss,’” Nawara said.

The Michigan Women’s Foundation is working out the details and structure for the loan fund and hopes to begin accepting loan applications by no later than the third and perhaps as early as this spring. Individual loans will range from $1,000 to $25,000.

The loan fund right now totals only $200,000, though the foundation hopes to secure donations to significantly grow that amount through contributions from individuals and foundations.

“It’s a new way for women to invest in other women,” Cassin said.

That investment goes beyond offering capital or credit.

Both the foundation and G.R.O.W. plan to combine their financial support to companies with business coaching and mentoring.

“It’s much more than cash,” Cassin said. “We’re really helping women and helping them take their idea” forward.

Taylor, who will work to raise additional funding and encourage women entrepreneurs, views the foundation’s efforts as a mixture of economic development and philanthropy.

“It’s giving back, and, at the same time, it’s building businesses for the future,” Taylor said. “I truly believe that the future of Michigan and the United States and the world is really based on helping every individual be the best that they can be and be successful and productive."